SCALE MODEL NEWS

DAVID JEFFERIS REPORTS: For my money, 2001: A Space Odyssey is one of the seminal science-fiction movies of all time, sharing the podium with the first Star Wars trilogy. Despite its fame, 2001 has not been kitted much over the years, so here’s an opportunity to catch up, with a twin-scale Space Wheel, from Fantastic Plastic.    About the kit The scale is an interesting one. In the words of Fantastic Plastic: “The size of the 'real' space station is under much dispute.  Sources close to the production insist was meant to be 1000 ft (305 m) in diameter.  However, director Stanley Kubrick ‘cheated’ by optically reducing the size of the approaching Orion III as it approached the station to enhance the drama, causing fans to recalculate the station's ‘actual’ size to twice that... or more. Orion shuttle choices Fantastic Plastic adds: "To placate fans, we're including two Orion III miniatures along with the station - one in 1:1400 scale and one in 1:2800, so the re...

SMN report Here’s a mouthwatering taste of things to come for science-fiction enthusiasts - Douglas Trumbull, the special-effects supervisor for the 1968 movie 2001: A Space Odyssey is working on a ‘making of’ docu-movie 2001: Beyond the Infinite , which will include heaps of never-seen-before material, plus dozens of star interviews. His interesting video seems to have been pulled from the internet, perhaps for copyright reasons, but Trumbull's own site is packed with interesting stuff that anyone with an interest in the genre should have a look at. The address is shown below. Orion spacecraft kits In the model world, the movie has been served less well, especially by the mainstream kit manufacturers. About the only injection kits to be freely available have been of the elegant Orion passenger shuttle, with models from both Airfix and Aurora. Neither kit is perfect, but each will assemble into a reasonably handsome spacecraft model. Orion Cargoship from Stargazer Models Still, th...